Inevitable
by vanarian
Summary: It really was inevitable they would meet again sometime. If even just through coincidence. K-unit and Alex.
1. Chapter 1: Old Acquaintances

**A/N**

**I've been writing fanfiction for a while now, although I never got any off my computer and online. So here goes. Please review. I have a few more chapters written, just not typed up. If people like it, I'll continue.**

Eagle slammed his foot down on the brake, bringing the car to a screeching halt. Wolf, Snake, and Badger all turned to glare at him.

"Next time," Badger said, "I'm driving."

Wolf, now slightly pale, nodded. "Agreed."

"I'm not that bad!" Eagle protested.

Snake raised an eyebrow. "The light's green." He pointed out, then winced as the car gave a jolt and sputtered before racing forward.

A block later Eagle hit the brakes again, pulling over to the side of the road and staring at a building.

"Did you forget the way there?" Wolf asked him, and sighed when he got no response. "Eagle-"

"Isn't that Cub?" Wolf stared at him, mouth still slightly open from what he had been about to say. He had not been expecting Eagle to say that, As the sentence registered, he whipped his head around to stare at the building Eagle was watching: the Royal and General Bank. He stared at the slight, fair-haired boy for a moment before jerking his head back around to see Snake's look of shock and Badger's incomprehension. Eagle just looked excited.

"I mean," Eagle continued, "what are the chances?"

Wolf was now getting annoyed. "So what?" He snapped. "So it's Cub. Big deal! It's not like he only existed at Brecon Beacons."

Badger was now most definitely confused. Cub? A codename for a kid? A kid at the Beacons?

Eagle sighed before pulling back out onto the road, but not before Wolf had glanced back. A second later, he wished he hadn't. Cub was looking right at them, a surprised look on his face.

As they shifted back into traffic, Badger asked the inevitable question.

"Who's Cub?"

An hour later K-unit was sitting around at the flat and Badger was completely astonished. He was struggling to take it all in, and if it wasn't for the fact that his unit had been so surprised to see the kid, he would have thought they were pulling his leg.

"You trained with a kid." It was more of a statement than a question. Wolf answered anyway.

"Yes."

"At Brecon Beacons."

"Yes!" Wolf was getting snappish again, but Badger had a smirk creeping up on his face

"And you didn't kill him?" The amusement was now evident in his voice, and the rest of the unit, excluding Wolf, started laughing. Wolf just glowered.

"Why didn't we go say hi?" Eagle asked, "It's not like we had anything better to do."

"Because that would imply that we _wanted_ to see the him again, not that we just happened to see him outside a bank."

Badger started laughing. "Was he really that bad?"

Snake answered before Wolf could. "Actually, he was damn good. Kept up, put up with us, never complained. He even swiped matched from the Sergeant on a survival run."

"Course, it was his fault we were on the run in the first place." Eagle put in, but he was grinning. Nobody noticed that Wolf wasn't looking at the others, but studying the floor with a look of shame on his face.

Badger stared at him disbelievingly. This was harder to believe than anything else he'd heard. "He pulled one over on Sarge?" At Eagle's nod, he let out a low whistle. "Well, damn." Then something else Snake had said registered. "Hang on... he put up with you?"

"He was a kid stuck with our unit for who knew how long. We... well, weren't very nice." Snake replied, a little shame-faced.

"They mostly just ignored him." Wolf bit out. "But I was an arse."

His tone told Badger to drop the subject. Wisely, he complied. But he was also surprised at what he'd heard from Wolf. That was probably the closest he'd ever heard him come to saying that he was wrong.

It was a week later when they were once again all heading over to Snake's flat. Eagle was driving (against everyone's better judgement) and he pulled over again, in the same spot.

"Eagle..." Wolf started to growl, before he noticed the absolutely dumbstruck expression on the man's face and turned, resigned, to look at the door of the bank.

He had expected Eagle to be staring at Cub again. He wasn't. It took a moment to convince himself he was really seeing what he thought he was seeing, then Snake started laughing, shaking his head.

"There is no bloody way."

Walking out of the doors of the Royal and General Bank was Fox.

Wolf hesitated for only a second. "Eagle, park the car."

Eagle pulled a U-turn instead, and pulled up beside the young man with short-cropped brown hair who reached the sidewalk at he same time. He looked up and stopped dead when Eagle rolled down the window and said cheerfully, "Need a ride?"

"Eagle?" He looked in the passenger seat. "Wolf?"

Snake rolled down the back window. "Me too. Hey, Fox. How've you been?"

Fox grinned. "Not too bad. How about you guys?"

"Stunned by coincidence," Eagle replied dryly. "Last week we saw Cub here. You two have the same bank!"

Fox appeared to be surprised by this, but he was smirking inside. "What? You caught up with Cub, too? How is he?"

Eagle looked awkward and Wolf looked grumpy. Snake didn't say anything. Badger looked at the others, and then back at Fox.

"What they're not telling you is that they were too chicken to actually stop and say hi. He held out a hand. "I'm Badger."

The other man reached over Snake to grasp his hand and shake it. "Fox. You're my replacement, then?"

Badger searched the man's words but found no hint of bitterness in his tone over being binned and replaced by some other man. He decided he liked Fox.

Fox glanced behind them. "You're slowing down traffic."

It was true. They were blocking one of the lanes. Fox sighed. "Well, I should get going."

"Want a lift?" Eagle offered. Fox laughed and pulled open the door, gesturing for Eagle to get into the back. "Not if you're driving." Eagle put on a mock offended look while the other men laughed. Fox pulled smoothly out onto the road, and after a minute Badger patted Eagle on the back, saying in a mock consoling voice, "Sorry, Eagle, he's got a point."

Fox parked in front of a nice restaurant and grinned at the others. "I've got a prior arrangement for tonight, but it was nice seeing you guys.

Snake eyed the building. "Prior arrangements, huh? Lucky girl."

He smirked as Fox raised an eyebrow at him. "You haven't met her. Lucky me. He got out and waved. Eagle made to get up, but Snake pushed him back down firmly. "No, you are not driving." Snake got into the driver's seat, and Fox laughed as he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2: Small World

** A/N: ****_Thank you all so much for your reviews! They inspire me. And thank you for all the favorites and follows as well. I will update soon, I have another chapter almost done, though none of it is typed up yet. Here you go for now, let me know what you think. Also, here's something I forgot last chapter._**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Alex Rider, as my name is not Anthony Horowitz.**

It wasn't until a few months later that K-unit saw Cub again. Badger had gone to visit some relation of his - a second or third cousin - who was going through a difficult divorce. The rest of the unit planned to pick him up on their way back to base.

The beat up van pulled into the driveway of a small home. It would have looked cozy if it had been well-kept; as it was, with the uncared for lawn and the sky not yet light, casting shadows on the closed curtains, it looked rather unwelcoming. A harried-looking Badger stood in the doorway.

"I can't leave just yet. I've got to wait until Tom leaves for school."

'Tom' turned out to be a teenager, whose parents had left him with Badger for the night as they avoided each other. Tom hadn't said anything about it, but he preferred being left alone to the fighting. He gave an exasperated sigh, accompanied by an eye-roll. While he preferred his parents to be out, the man who'd come over - some relation of his mother's - seemed to think he was a child who needed looking after.

"You can go if you want. I'm just going to go to school, I'll be fine."

He looked up with Badger with puppy eyes. "Or you could call me in sick." he added hopefully, "Or I could 'forget' to go..."

Wolf attempted to hold in his temper, while Eagle let out a poorly concealed snort. The boy looked over at them.

"You guys look like stalkers or something, just sitting out there in the van. If Eric's not gonna leave, you may as well come in."

Wolf grabbed Badger (Eric) 's arm on the way inside. "Why can't we just drop the kid off at his school?"

"He bikes," Badger answered him, "and he needs a way home. And he's waiting for his friend. Alex, I think he said."

Once all five of them were seated awkwardly around the kitchen table, Tom asked (far too casually for a teenager awake early in the morning) "So, what are you stalkers doing here, anyway?"

"We're not stalkers-" Wolf began, narrowing his eyes at the kid, but was cut off by a laugh.

"Oh, I dunno, you certainly looked it that day I was at the bank, Wolf."

The four SAS soldiers jumped and whirled around. A familiar blonde figure was standing in the doorway.

Tom jumped up and grabbed his bag. "Hey, Alex!"

Halfway to the door, he stopped and ran upstairs, dropping his bag. "I forgot my maths!"

Alex rolled his eyes, clearly used to this from his friend. he leaned against the door frame. While Tom ran upstairs, the unit stared at him. Three of them in surprise; the fourth had eyes narrowed into a glare. Wolf stood up and shifted his stance pointedly.

After a minute of being glared at, Cub raised an eyebrow. "Careful, your face might stick like that. Or is it already stuck?"

The rest of the unit struggled to hide their shock and their smirks when Wolf turned to glare at them, hearing a soft snort of laughter from behind him. Then he turned back to face Cub. "What are you doing here?" He snapped at Cub.

Cub answered straight-faced without missing a beat. "Waiting for Tom so we can go to school... I thought you could have figured that one out. Apparently I overestimated your intelligence."

Wolf's expression turned murderous, and Badger decided it would be best to diffuse the situation before the conversation got out of hand; amusing as it would be to see a teen make Wolf lose his cool, he didn't want to have to put up with one of the soldier's moods on the whole trip.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced." he cut in. "I'm Tom's... well, I'm his mother's third cousin, whatever that makes us. Eric, sometimes called Badger." He held out a hand to the teen.

Cub looked at the outstretched hand before straightening up from where he was still leaning on the doorframe and reaching out to take it. "Alex, sometimes known as Cub."

He had a surprisingly strong grip, Badger thought, and then realized after everything he'd heard about this kid he shouldn't be surprised.

Snake knew they should apologize for how they'd treated him at Beacons, but decided to follow Badger's lead for now. "Aaron." he said, nodding to Alex.

Eagle said, "Morgan."

After a moment passed, they all turned to look at Wolf. He looked back at them with a defiant expression that said in no uncertain terms, _You have got to be joking._ A moment later he relented, snapping out shortly, "Luke."

A slight grin crossed Alex's face. Badger, being the only one who hadn't really seen him before, looked him over. At first glance, standing in sneakers and his school uniform with a bag on his shoulder, he looked no different than any other teen. He was fit, but that could have come from simply being an athlete. But the way he held himself made him wonder what the teen had really been doing at Brecon Beacons. There was a wariness and readiness in his stance that most people would not notice that belied his relaxed position; he had resumed leaning on the doorway while he waited for Tom. There was a haunted look hidden behind a mask of cheerfulness in his eyes. Eyes that Badger now noticed were scanning the room for any threat. And there was a confidence that radiated from him that most teenagers did not have - less arrogance and more self-assurance.

Then Alex looked down at his watch. He swore. "TOM!" he shouted. "We're going to be late!"

The other boy came running down the stairs and grabbed his bag. As the two of them ran out the door, he heard Alex ask, "Where's your maths?"

The last thing K-unit caught as they two teens wheeled their bikes away was "I never did it." Badger held back a laugh. He'd come to like Tom during the few days he was at the brown-haired boy's house.

Snake waited until the boys were out of sight and they were in the van to comment dryly, "Small world."


	3. Chapter 3: Refreshers and Reunions

**A/N: ****_Please keep reviewing. I'll try to get the next chapter up sooner, but reviews inspire me!_**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Alex Rider. This makes me sad.**

K-unit had just gotten back from a tough mission when they were called in to Brecon Beacons for a refresher. The unit was also in the recovery process, because Snake and Eagle had both been injured, and they knew they wouldn't be sent out again for a while.

Three days in, they were called to the Sergeant's office to see him looking vexed. When they walked in, they heard him mutter, 'bloody MI6'.

"Wolf." he stated.

"Sir." Wolf saluted, looking the Sergeant in the eye. After a moment K-unit were waved into seats.

"Special ops is sending two agents here. They won't tell me why."

K-unit now had a good idea of exactly what had the Sergeant so irritated.

"They will both be staying with and training with your unit. Apparently, you are acquainted. I have no idea how."

The Sergeant paused and looked up at Wolf, who shook his head. "No idea."

The briefing continued as if there had been no interruption.

"One of them will arrive tomorrow. One will arrive the day after. They will most likely be staying a few weeks, possibly longer. The time could extend up to the entire duration of your stay here."

Wolf started to open his mouth to make an exclamation of surprise or outrage, he wasn't sure which, but Eagle stamped on his foot. The Sergeant paused only a moment more before he nodded to them.

"Dismissed."

K-unit filed out of the office. As soon as they'd left, Wolf burst out angrily, "I don't believe this! Wasn't it bad enough getting stuck with Cub? Are we the babysitting unit now? Why not stick them with some other unit for once?"

"Because," Eagle said in a thoughtful voice, apparently we're acquainted. but who?"

Snake mirrored Eagle's contemplative expression. "We've been backup for agents before, maybe it's two of them?"

Badger let out a groan. "If it's Johnston, shoot me now." The others laughed at him.

"Come on, Badger, what are the chances?" Snake asked teasingly.

Johnston had been an adequate agent with a high opinion of himself because he was assigned to Special ops. Badger had a disagreement with him, leading to a confrontation about the fact that his arrogance and presuming nature could get their unit killed. The confrontation consisted of a very vocal argument that had gotten them both warnings from their superiors - for which Johnston blamed Badger.

Wolf put the matter firmly from his mind. The agent would arrive tomorrow, and no amount of speculation would change who was coming.

He worked them as hard as ever that day, leaving no room for wondering, but that night they couldn't help their thoughts from drifting to the next day, their heads filled with idle speculation before they drifted into sleep.

When Badger woke the next morning, there was a fifth figure lying in one of the two bunks that had been brought in. He grinned as Wolf got the rest of the unit up silently, and the four of them moved quietly over to the bunk to wake up the agent.

They were forestalled by a sleepy voice saying, "If you're planning on imitating our lovely Sergeant, Wolf, I got quite enough of that last time we were here, thanks."

Wolf stepped back in surprise as a head of tousled brown hair emerged, short-cropped and standing on end, not quite long enough to hang into bleary blue eyes.

"...Fox?" K-unit stared in shock. Fox looked between them for a moment before laughing. "Sarge didn't tell you who was coming?" He asked good-humouredly.

"Sarge didn't know." Wolf said evenly. "Guess you weren't really binned then, were you?"

"You're MI6?" Badger asked. Snake and Eagle mirrored his dumbstruck expression.

Fox rolled his eyes. "And they were supposed to have told you this already. They care too much about keeping their secrets, it's not like you weren't going to find out today anyway."

"So..." Eagle tried to sound casual, "Do you know who's coming tomorrow?"

"Yes." Fox said, but did not elaborate.

"You going to tell us?" Wolf growled.

"Nope." Fox shook his head, laughing at his old unit leader. "Why would I do that?"

Eagle looked at his watch and then suddenly swore. "We need to be down at the lake... five minutes ago."

The rest of the unit threw a look at the clock and started scrambling around to get ready, while Fox sat down on his bunk and began to take his time dressing. Snake paused a moment in his own rush to shout, "Hurry up, Fox!"

Fox leaned back against the wall. "Due to my arrival being at two o'clock this morning, I've been given a little bit of leeway. If you hurry, you'll only be eight and a half minutes late."

Badger was hopping around pulling on his boot while looking for his second sock. A thought struck him, and as he wheeled to look at Fox his legs came out from under him and he landed sideways on top of Eagle.

As he disentangled himself, ignoring Eagle's curses, he accused Fox, "You knew what time it was all along... didn't you?"

The rest of the unit paused to hear out his suspicions, and Fox nodded cheerfully. "Considering your planned wake-up call, I think this was deserved."

As the four K-unit members sprinted out the door, throwing insults back at him, he laughed again.

But as soon as they were out of sight, he began his own rush around the cabin. After all, fifteen minutes wasn't a lot of leeway time, and Sarge would not be impressed if he was late.

When he met them at the lake for their swim, Wolf smirked at him, and Fox restrained himself from following through on the childish urge to retort by sticking out his tongue.

The water came in waves to the shore; not huge waves pounding against the sand like they would on a windy day, for which Fox was grateful, but not exactly small waves either. It would have been pretty, he thought, looking out of the shimmering tableau in the pre-dawn light, had he not known that they had to jump in.

The air was frigid, and as expected, the water was much worse. When they were finally done with their swim, they were allowed ten minutes to change before breakfast.

Fox finished changing and drying off with three minutes to go. Eagle, already done, grinned at him.

"Aw, and didn't you miss camp?"

This time Fox gave in to his childish urge. The towel nailed Eagle in the face.

The rest of the day passed slowly for K-unit, in their eagerness to see who else was coming. Fox felt the day went by fairly quickly, as he fell easily back into his old routine. He had an evaluation after lunch; K-unit had been evaluated their first day back, and weren't with him. When he was done, the Sergeant stopped him on his way out.

"Good to have you back, Fox," he said gruffly, before continuing out the door. Fox stopped dead and stared after him in shock before hurrying back to join K-unit for their next exercise.

When dinner ended, the five of them headed back to the bunks to find that the other agent had arrived and was waiting for them.

The shorter, fair-haired figure sat facing away from them. Fox's face became a determinedly fixed mask. The agent looked up when he heard them coming, and Wolf's jaw tightened as he told himself it would be a very bad idea to go kill MI6.

It was Johnston.

**A/N: ****_Hands up, who was expecting Cub. No, this isn't going to be a Cub at Beacons story - at least I don't think it is. He'll be here soon. In the meantime, please review!_**

**_What would you like to see in upcoming chapters?_**

**_Where will they see Cub again?_**

**_What is the trait you would most dislike in a person that you want me to give to Johnston? (I will give him my favorite)_**

**_Virtual cookies to whoever answers._**


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